Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 1,076,788 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its stake in Southern Company by 94.3%, holding $5.93 million worth of shares after selling over 1 million shares in the first quarter.
• Southern Company reported earnings of $0.91 per share, missing consensus estimates, but had revenues of $6.97 billion, exceeding analyst expectations.
• Southern announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.2%, with a payout ratio of 76.09%.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board decreased its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 94.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 64,514 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,076,788 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Southern were worth $5,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Investors Research Corp lifted its position in Southern by 400.0% during the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SO shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.5%

Southern stock traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $91.30. 714,483 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,049,483. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $93.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.05. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $80.46 and a twelve month high of $96.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.43 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.41.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. Research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

About Southern

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.